Result better than display admits Giggs
Manchester United,
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Manchester United star Ryan Giggs has expressed his relief after winning with a below-par performance on an emotional day at Liverpool.
United had to dig deep to come back and take all three points after failing behind to a Steven Gerrard volley seconds after the restart.
The game was the first to be played at Anfield since the publication of the Hillsborough Independent Panel's report, which cleared Reds fans of blame in the 1989 FA Cup semi-final disaster in Sheffield, when 96 people lost their lives.
Fans and players put old rivalries aside in a show of unity which included a handshake before the kick-off between Luis Suarez and Patrice Evra.
The Liverpool striker snubbed the Frenchman's hand last season after he had been found guilty of racially abusing the United full-back in a previous meeting.
On the pitch, the home side were forced to play the contest with just 10 men for 51 minutes after Jonjo Shelvey got his marching orders.
Rafael cancelled out Gerrard's opener five minutes later, before a Robin van Persie penalty secured a 2-1 victory with nine minutes left following a trip in the box by Glen Johnson on Antonio Valencia.
Giggs told Sky Sports: "Over the last three or four years we've come here and played a lot better and not got anything - that's how it goes sometimes.
"It's always tough against a team like Liverpool who keep the ball well.
"Even if they go down to 10 men they don't change, they keep the ball, and that's always tough."
Giggs and Gerrard released 96 red balloons in memory of the Hillsborough victims before the match as part of a number of tributes, but the former Wales international did not feel the emotion of the occasion got to his team-mates.
The veteran added: "No, I don't think so.
"It's just a tough place to come and Liverpool obviously wanted to put on a performance because of the occasion, and they did that."


